Where new communicators excel and fall short

You felt proficient in some areas, less so others, and earned you stripes
through hard work and study. So did your colleagues and your experience is
probably not much different from that of today’s entry-level PR pros.

Budding communicators are confident in their writing, critical thinking and
public speaking, but their research ability and environmental scanning
abilities were lacking according to a joint study from the Institute for
Public Relations and the Public Relations Society of America.

The study takes a deep dive into the mindset of today’s entry-level PR pro,
where it identified room for improvement in today’s entry-level PR pros:

Business skills

ability to apply theories

ability to apply business acumen

financial literacy

The study further reveals that when it comes to grit—the perseverance and
passion it takes to achieve long-term goals—entry-level women rated
themselves higher than their male counterparts. Overall, though,
self-evaluation on “ability to work strenuously toward challenges” is down
compared to previous years.

The good news is that the younger set is ready and eager to learn. 98
percent of respondents said they’d be more open to learning new skills if
their employer paid for all or part of the training. Such programs could
even lead to greater employee retention based on the 81 percent who said
employer-funded professional development is a factor in staying in that
job.

For more on the study, check out the full version
here and the accompanying infographic below.